Ottawa, Allegan counties get state road funding

Thursday

Apr 3, 2014 at 5:22 PMApr 3, 2014 at 5:22 PM

Staff report

LANSING — Drivers in Ottawa and Allegan counties received a bit of good news Thursday. Counties, cities and towns have received an additional $60.9 million from the state to pay for road maintenance costs after one of Michigan's harshest winters in history.The money is part of $100 million the Legislature allocated for special road maintenance and Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law last month. The Michigan Department of Transportation and state counties received about $39 million each, while cities and towns received about $22 million on Thursday.From that, Ottawa County received $1.08 million, while Allegan County received a little more than $530,000. Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties received the most money, getting between $2-4 million each.The money won't make the county's road maintenance budget "whole," but it will help to lessen the blow this winter's plowing, salt and overtime will have on what's left over for summer maintenance, said Ryan Kemppainen, the Ottawa County Road Commission operations superintendent.The city of Allegan received $22,723.74, Douglas received $8,238.62, Fennville received $5,789.51, Holland received $163,429.96, Hudsonville received $29,723.15, Otsego received $17,149.59, Saugatuck received $6,258.59, South Haven received $23,460.99 and Zeeland received $25,383.61.Transportation Director Kirk Steudle said the funds are "badly needed" for the "extremely high costs of plowing, salting and filling potholes this past winter."Lt. Gov. Brian Calley signed the measure into law in mid-March. At the time, he said, "While Michigan is still in need of a comprehensive road funding and maintenance solution, the money provided in the supplemental will definitely benefit local governments and drivers as we work to fix the potholes and other road problems brought on by the harsh winter."